


you're only young once, my loved one

by InkBlotAngel



Series: time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near [11]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coulson Academy, FitzSimmons (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) - Freeform, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Happy Ending, Jemma Simmons called May Melinda, Melinda May Can't Cook, Melinda May Feels, Perthshire Cottage (Marvel), Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series Finale, Season/Series 07, lemon orchards for Deke Shaw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25914640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkBlotAngel/pseuds/InkBlotAngel
Summary: Whatever reaction Jemma was expecting, it certainly wasn't the look of confusion on her daughter's face. "Mama," Alya says slowly. "Who's May?""Oh!" exclaims Jemma. "Melinda — your Auntie Minda.""Why do you call her May and not M'inda?"In which kids ask the darndest things, like why Alya's mother has a different name for her favorite aunt. Canon-compliant, post-series finale.
Relationships: Jemma Simmons & Alya FitzSimmons, Melinda May & Alya FitzSimmons, Melinda May & Jemma Simmons
Series: time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790437
Comments: 31
Kudos: 129





	you're only young once, my loved one

**Author's Note:**

> I've read a lot of people found it weird that Jemma called May by her last name in the finale flashforward, but I thought it was lovely and said a lot about how much closer they've gotten ever since. Here's a little headcanon (fix-it?) about how it may have developed since the show decided to just skip all that... and naturally, I couldn't resist making little parallels. ;)
> 
> (Also, is this fluff? Who _is_ she?!)
> 
> Title from "Growing Up" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ed Sheeran

She senses their presence before she sees them.

"You're just in time," May acknowledges with a smile, sweeping the last of her personal belongings into her handbag before glancing up at the two people standing in the doorway to the lecture hall.

She's about to greet them properly when she's cut off by a girlish squeal, "Auntie Minda!" Little Alya dashes across the stage and May kneels down to catch her in a tight embrace, closing her eyes as baby smell and the girl's childlike exuberance overwhelm her senses.

"Hello, _bǎobèi_ ," May says fondly, letting her go just enough so they can look at each other. "I missed you so much," she admits, tapping her button nose and enjoying the sound of Alya's giggles echoing in the room as she rises back up to her feet.

It's been months since they last saw each other, but Jemma's hug is as warm and familiar as May could remember. She relishes the feelings of contentment and serenity easing into her, speaking volumes about how Jemma is more than words spoken out loud. 

"The long flight not too difficult for you with a toddler?" she inquires once greetings have been exchanged. 

Jemma gives her daughter a rare exasperated glance. "She's used to being on the _Zephyr_ , but we couldn't get her to sleep and she wouldn't stop _babbling_. It drove Fitz and I mad the whole time," she sighs melodramatically.

They fall into step as they leave the lecture hall and head outdoors "So, lunch. What are you in the mood for?" May asks. "There's a great noodle place a block away from campus."

Jemma holds up a paper bag. "I brought sandwiches. Seriously, May, when was the last time you had a meal that wasn't takeaway?"

" _And_ this is one of my specialties, Fitz's favorite," she continues, sensing May was about to protest. "Prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella, with just a _hint_ of pesto aioli. You turn it down, he'll come after you."

May relents with a chuckle. "I suppose it's been a while."

She finds them a nice spot on campus grounds underneath a tree to give them some shade. Jemma sets up a small blanket for Alya to play in while she and May sit side by side on a park bench.

The homemade sandwich _is_ amazing, May thinks, taking another bite. Back during their time together, Jemma would prepare sandwiches for everyone every now and then, although they were usually simpler, crunched for time as she often was. 

She misses those small things — Phil's grilled cheese sandwich with his secret ingredient, Elena's exotic South American dishes on occasion, Daisy's boxed mac 'n cheese, and even Mack's greatest culinary contribution to the team: ordering enough pizza to feed an army. 

(On days May is in charge of food, she did takeout too: healthy salads usually, and too-indulgent Chinese when she's stressed. It's one way the team learned to read her moods.)

"How are things here?" Jemma asks.

May considers her answer for a moment. "Better than expected. I thought having the Academy in his name was just for us to honor him, but I can't deny it's also good press for those who can't keep track whether S.H.I.E.L.D. is good or bad."

Jemma nods. "And… how is Coulson? Has he been in touch lately?"

"We spoke last week. He's in Australia right now, says he wants to see the kangaroos," May rolls her eyes good-naturedly. 

But she gets it – all of them do, actually. Nameless countries and cities are blurred in their memories. Their job took them around the world, though there was never enough time to actually slow down and take in the sights unless their cover called for it. 

"Daisy?" she asks in return.

"Doing good up there, I think," Jemma answers, looking up at the sky with a soft smile. "She e-mailed last night asking me to look into some gifts for Alya since she won't be around for Christmas."

They sit in comfortable silence, finishing their sandwiches while watching over Alya, who was fiddling with some building blocks on the blanket by their feet. Even up to now, May still couldn't believe Fitz and Simmons had actually been away for four years and raised a daughter of their own, not when barely any time has passed for her and everyone else.

The first time Alya met the entire team, she immediately took a liking to May much to everyone's surprise, most of all to May herself. She recalls the reveal months ago, in one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nicer safehouses they still kept: a mountaintop cabin in the middle of nowhere (it was an unspoken agreement no one wanted to go back to the Lighthouse, forever if they could manage it). 

Their battle-worn and time-hardened selves looked out of place next to the quiet beauty of their surroundings, but May could feel from everyone that they needed this – to be on solid ground, feet firmly placed on the earth, and the crisp fresh air a reminder of what they fought for.

Fitz and Simmons were the last to arrive, not only with Piper and Flint in tow, but also a shockingly blond toddler with Jemma's intelligent eyes and Fitz's charming smile. The energy in the room had shifted almost immediately, one to shock and wonder and even more confusion. 

In just a minute, little Alya had everyone wrapped around her finger. She shook Coulson's hand like an adult, exchanged high-fives with Yo-Yo who made a game out of it with her powers that sent her into peals of laughter, got baby-talked by Daisy that had her making faces, but it was to May she approached with her little arms stretched up in the universal toddler-talk that meant she wanted to be picked up.

May had sent an almost-comical alarmed look at her parents, only for Fitz and Simmons to nod and smile back in encouragement. A reverent hush fell on the group as May lifted the little girl gently, all too aware of the significance of the moment. She made sure not to rest their weight on her bad leg as she took her first good look at Alya.

"Hello there, I'm your Aunt Melinda," May murmured. Her hesitations slowly melted away as she reveled in the child's innocence, in the brightness of her smile and eyes that have yet to be clouded over by sorrow and pain.

_Unlike…_

Alya tilted her head to the side, a beautifully curious look on her face. "Aunt M'inda," she attempted, and May felt like her heart was going to burst open with so much emotion that she had never experienced before.

"That's right, _bǎobèi_ ," she smiled. As far as she was concerned, this little girl can call her anything.

"What's bah-bey?" Alya tried to mimic, frowning.

"It means you're a treasure," May had answered, and with an unspoken promise to keep this girl safe from anything that would come to harm her, she continues. "And it means that I love you."

The smile on Alya's face is a memory she holds close to her heart, chasing her nightmares away.

"Speaking of Christmas," Jemma says, bringing her back to the present. May senses a slight hesitation that only lasts for a moment before the other woman pushes on. "With Daisy and Coulson away, would you… maybe want to spend the holidays with us in Scotland? We'd love to have you over, and Alya will be happy to spend extra time with her Auntie Minda — that is if you don't have other plans…?"

"I'd love to," is May's swift answer, cutting off Jemma's stammering. "Mom is still doing consulting work in Europe; maybe my dad and I could make a trip out of it and visit her as well."

Jemma beams with excitement. "Great! We'll take care of everything, we've enough room in the cottage for everyone."

"Nonsense," May shakes her head. "We can at least buy our plane tickets," she gestures to Alya. "You'll need to save up if this one's on track for two PhDs _and_ Coulson Academy."

"You forget we got controlling shares of Deke's start-up," Jemma jokes.

It had been her idea to take over the company, neatly tying up that loose end and returning the intellectual property to S.H.I.E.L.D. Although in Deke's honor, the company now functions as the organization's corporate social responsibility arm, providing technological solutions to underprivileged communities while working to end world hunger. And creating lemon orchards everywhere.

"You'll be having extra people in your house for a few weeks," May asserts. "It's the least we can do."

Jemma finally acquiesces with a nod. "It's settled then. She'll be so happy, and we can't wait to have you there."

At that moment, Alya decides her building blocks were boring and abandons them for a spot on her mother's lap. May looks at the both of them, a little bit of longing in her gaze.

Once upon a time, before the world came under threat of gifted individuals and aliens and robots, she wanted this for herself, with Andrew by her side. Bahrain had destroyed that for them, and if some part of her had always wondered what it would have been like, she silenced those thoughts swiftly, too broken and afraid for wishful thinking.

It was only in recent years she had finally started to come to terms with it, to heal, fueled by the thought that in another life she had been a mother to Robin. The woman sitting next to her is also a significant reason for her to move forward, along with Fitz and Daisy, and all the other younger agents who looked up to her.

No, May reflects, she would never have kids of her own. But nurturing a new generation of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents gives her newfound purpose, as much as she likes to say she hates running the Academy.

"… some great news for you," she overhears Jemma telling Alya excitedly. "Guess who's spending Christmas with us in a few weeks? May!"

Whatever reaction Jemma was expecting, it certainly wasn't the look of confusion on her daughter's face. "Mama," Alya says slowly. "Who's May?"

"Oh!" exclaims Jemma. "Melinda — your Auntie Minda."

"Why do you call her May and not M'inda?"

Kids ask the darndest things, Jemma thinks and glances helplessly at May who only shrugs as if to say, _your daughter_. How exactly do you explain to your child about the nature of what they used to do and the naming convention they all got used to? May has long adapted to calling Simmons by her first name for a while now, but the same couldn't be said otherwise yet.

Jemma's still figuring out how to answer when May finally steps in. "You know, why _do_ you call me May and not Melinda?" she asks, in both ways teasing and encouraging. She quirks an eyebrow at Alya conspiratorially, who giggles and looks up at her mom expectantly.

They've been through a lot together and are long past the formalities, Jemma considers. But if she's being honest to herself, she's just confused about boundaries: titles didn't seem necessary anymore so she's dropped Agent, yet she didn't want to cross a line and be disrespectful to the older woman by calling her anything else but May. _Mel_ sounded too casual, but _Melinda_ also seems to be reserved for people especially close to her, like Coulson and Yo-Yo…

Suddenly, her heart floods with warmth, realizing what May was really implying. And May, it seems could feel the shift too, because she gives her a tiny nod of assurance.

"I, um… okay." Jemma smiles shyly. "Melinda."

The name sounds a little too foreign and awkward, the syllables disjointed coming from her lips, but the way May — _Melinda_ — softens and looks touched makes her want to get used to it if only to make Melinda feel that way for the rest of her life.

It's striking how just a small and simple detail changes everything significantly. They share a tender moment, an unspoken conversation that's louder than any words said aloud.

Oblivious, but just happy that her mama was making more sense now, Alya hops down from her lap and rummages through her backpack on the blanket.

"Auntie Minda," she interrupts, fishing out a book and facing it forward so the adults could read the title, _A Place for Mulan_. "Can you read me this story please?"

"Alright," Melinda agrees, folding up her sandwich wrapper neatly and putting it in the paper bag to be disposed of properly later. "Over here, or I'll sit with you?"

Alya giggles again, clutching the book to her chest. "No, you come here!"

She offers her Auntie Minda a hand to help her stand up, and for a moment Melinda stills with an unwanted memory, albeit a distant one, of a young girl with an outstretched hand and a smile on her face.

But as she looks into Alya's eyes here in the now, she immediately knows: Alya will never give her pain, only unwavering, unconditional love.

Melinda takes her hand.

She'll never let this girl go.

**END.**

**Author's Note:**

> [Ming-Na Wen reading _A Place for Mulan_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcjbsW9xrJg).


End file.
